September 2009

The season is starting to change from Summer to Autumn and Oktoberfest will kick off next week. This is my favorite time of the year, the time for new beginnings, leather jackets and layering clothes, pretty bags and boots, and patterned tights. It’s also a great time to layer the home, decorate, and enjoy candles and warm meals with your family.

The leaves are starting to change (we have the same beautiful Fall as in New England, thankfully, so I’m not missing out), acorns and chestnuts are all over the walkways and streets, the red squirrels are busy collecting (here’s what squirrels look like here), the air is changing to crisp and slightly cool, and at night I can smell the stoves burning — that lovely smell of wood combined with the smell or plants and earth from the nearby largest urban forest in Europe just two blocks away (side note: it has a ancient nine-ring turf labyrinth that my husband played in as a child, it has existed since 1642, isn’t that cool?).

So, on with the point of presenting Terrain! I was so happy to learn that Terrain at Styer’s in Pennsylvania, a garden shop, greenhouse and cafe, now has an online store. Has anyone been to their PA location? It really reminds me of some of the garden centers that I see over here… I love the organic feel and how cozy everything is — plus their attention to detail and their design eye is absolute perfection. It’s great that their shop is now online for those who don’t live anywhere near Pennsylvania but who would enjoy some of their product offerings. Here are some views of their store in case you’d like to travel there today… And below, are some views of products that I love – my wish list. :) Please click images to enlarge.

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This morning I’m delighted to share a few corners of the home of photographer, blogger and etsy shop owner Danielle Thompson. Note: This post also includes a link to a DIY tutorial for the greenish blue plastic doilies that you see on her wall below, so don’t miss that. I thought that I’d have Danielle tell us about some of her inspirations and ideas for her home, so I’ve asked a few questions that I was curious about… Let’s get started and view the nooks in Danielle’s home!

Danielle and her family (2 young boys, a dog and a turtle) live in metro Atlanta, Georgia in a ranch style 3-bedroom home (approx. 1,800 square feet) circa 1962 with 2 baths. Just when you thought you could say, “This lady obviously doesn’t live with any men!”, well I guess we’ll all wrong!

What inspires you Danielle? As obvious by my photos, I take huge inspiration from vintage. Especially from the 60’s and 70’s. I love to mix many different patterns, colors and textures and I often have little forethought in how a room will turn out. I collect items randomly for a while, and then I just sort of throw it all together and see what happens. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but sometimes it does. :) Most of all, I always want to create rooms that have a sense of nostalgia and whimsy, that always take you back to a certain time in your past and most of all, rooms that don’t take themselves too seriously. I have two young boys as well, and that plays into my furniture choices – I don’t splurge on furniture because little boys are quite wild! But I can splurge on vintage accent pieces that are placed “up high” where the boys can’t get to them. It creates a good balance of practicality and my love of vintage.

How to for the doilies shown above on the wall: “I cut them in half with a craft knife and adhered them to the wall with adhesive spray. On two of them I accidentally used permanent adhesive, and on the others I used temporary adhesive because I was worried about them messing up the walls if I took them down. But after seeing them up for a while, the permanent would be fine on all (they come off just fine). I really love how they “frame” this little grouping of items. This is essentially what you see when you walk in the front door, so the doilies give it a lot more presence.” – Danielle

What do you do for a living? I’ve been a graphic designer for over 10 years now, and I do (very) part-time work with that. I spend most of my time designing my digital and printable craft/scrapbooking kits, Kitschy Digitals. I have also designed several things for the crafter: paper goods, polymer stamp collections and embroidery patterns.. all of which you can find in my Etsy shop, Tiny Bazaar. I also have a line of Vinyl Wall Decals (one is shown above framing the prize ribbons) and prints of my photography, also in my Etsy shop.

What inspired your selection of your newly decorated living room, “The Blue Room”? The blueish/grayish room with lots of horse imagery… well that room was previously a very dark cranberry red. I’ve been slowly redecorating my house. After 10 years of much more vibrant, rich colors on my walls, my aesthetic has changed. I wanted to do something more subtle and soothing with this room, and less clutter. We have very low ceilings, the rooms are small, as are the windows, so our home does not get a ton of good natural light coming in. So we went with a much lighter, less saturated, light blue. We really love the room. The decor is much more spare which creates a relaxing atmosphere – and of course the change from a very warm red, to a soothing blue helps so much in the relaxation factor. I really wanted the decor that I’ve collected to provide the color and interest, instead of the wall color.

Thank you Danielle for visiting all of us here today! We’ve enjoyed these colorful glimpses of your home so, so much!

I promised a little glimpse of the fabric market that I attended in my new city last Saturday, the same day that I also hit the flea market just around the corner and scored a new dresser and a doily glass platter. I had such a great time and found some beautiful fabrics and notions, but most importantly, I found a ton of new brands and interesting ideas and inspiration… and noticed that Germans are big on iron on decals! I found so many deer, mushrooms, you name it — all silhouette style in funky patterns and colors meant to iron on to skirts and bags, etc. And I spotted a vendor who sold all of the fabrics from the Tone Finnager, Tildas Hus line. Really sweet stuff! This market catered to both the fashion and craft crowd, so you found little old ladies shopping next to the girls that you know make most of what they have on.

The market visits here 4 times each year, it will return again November 7th. It tours all around the country, the organizer, Stoffmarkt Holland, is from Holland and so a bunch of the vendors are Dutch and then of course, you have several German online shops selling there as well. I still haven’t spotted any Amy Butler or Heather Bailey fabrics, nothing familiar to me really — but I found so many great ones that were completely new that I didn’t walk away disappointed or empty handed! It was also very hard to not walk away feeling inspired.

And well… I guess I have to say a little something negative about this market. Nothing is vintage! Boo! I wish so badly that some stylish new vendor would join the crew and sell vintage textiles, I would love nothing more! And they reallllly needed an Indian fabric dealer. And a Japanese vendor with fabrics from Japan. THEN this would have been the perfect event. But I still loved it, but you know, I’m picky and always thinking of ways to improve everything I see… I’m sure you’re the same way! Oh and I would have died and gone to heaven if they had a crafts book dealer, oh my! But they did sell a few books and such here and there, but still…

Please excuse my photographs, they were not taken with the greatest care or concentration. The market was nuts, at least at the booths where I wanted to take close ups of the fabric, so my arms were constantly being knocked and my bag was getting bumped – so hard to keep a still photo. I was also the ONLY one there with a camera so I had to be discreet, I didn’t want to have to explain to everyone what I was doing photographing their booths. :) But no one seemed to care and so in the end it all worked out. But man, it’s so uncomfortable playing journalist sometimes, especially when I’m not fluently able to explain myself! I hope the photographs do this lovely market justice. It was very large, I’d say 100+ vendors maybe? Definitely worth attending one if you’re ever visiting Germany — just look on the stoffmarkt website to see the schedule and try to fit one in to your vacation!

Here is a glimpse of some of my loot:

Do they even have these markets in the states? Or in your country? I don’t ever remember seeing one over there and I lived in the south and New England and never came across anything like it. Maybe this is just a European thing. Could be a good business idea, huh? I think someone over there should start a traveling fabric market! :)

(images: holly becker for decor8)

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Hotze Eisma is an amazing photographer in the Netherlands who has worked with some very special clients in some of the most beautiful interiors in the world. The spaces shown in Hotze’s portfolio are stunning, unique and have been spotted in some of the world’s best publications. You may even recognize a few.

You can purchase some of these photographs if you are a company or publication interested in interior and travel photos… You simply go to the production that interests you and then click on the PDF download to view all the images from that particular shoot and then contact Hotze directly for the details. I personally love the lighting and mood in each of these photographs, there is a real feeling here that makes you want to know these people, dine with them… A cozy feeling that I love so much. You can view more from this stunning portfolio here.

(images: hotze eisma)

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This print, along with all the others over at The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy, is perky and so, so sweet. I love the typography and the colors and patterns are terrific – so cheerful. I remember when I was little going to yard sales and flea markets with my mother, I always saw Home Sweet Home signs and I never really understood what the expression meant. I guess you have to grow up to really know what it is, or perhaps first have it to understand the concept of what a home sweet home feels like.

Some people grow up and do not have such a sweet home. There is chaos, fighting, illness and many other things that can stand in the way of feeling safe, at peace and happy at home. I think that is one of the best things about being an adult and moving out of the house for the first time. As a young person, you have the chance to create your own Home Sweet Home no matter what your past was like. You can remove the stress and chaos and start anew. You can make decisions that are good ones, so as to safeguard your new found freedom and peace. If you are able to continue this for many years, and you meet someone, fall in love and continue having a relatively peaceful home life then I think you have accomplished a lot in your life. I remember when I was little, I lived next door to a couple who were always fighting. You could here them several houses away! And when I went to visit their daughter, I was surprised at how uncomfortable, even as a little girl, I always felt visiting her. They weren’t screaming when I visited, but this energy and negativity hung in the air like a very bad smell. And it felt thick and suffocating. I always asked her if we could play in the yard instead of inside of the house, I did not like how their home felt.

I’ve always been extremely sensitive to my surroundings, my environment. I can pick up on “vibes” and I’m usually quite accurate. I guess I’m the house whisperer. :) And that’s one of the many reasons why I started on this road to decorating and writing about decorating and design finds — I really want others to be more aware of their surroundings and in the importance of having a space that really mirrors their lifestyle and personality. And above all things material, a kind of peace and security that one can only feel at home — this is the ultimate goal I think all should have above decorating or some cool new teapot. Loving your family and repairing any holes, working out the problems, and getting back to being happy in your Home Sweet Home. Though we’re all a highly visual bunch, the best things in life cannot be seen… they are felt. :)

(image: the wheatfield)

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When I saw this photo today on the Twins’ Garden blog, I couldn’t resist sharing because I love it so much. Well, of course I adore little animals and the one thing I miss the most about living in New England is that here in Germany we have no chipmunks! That’s right, none! But thankfully we do have squirrels but not gray and large like the ones in Boston — they are smaller and bright red with huge furry ears. They are the cutest creatures ever! But I do miss the chipmunks… I would love to hold one like this. Yesterday I went to beautiful park where deer roam free, I saw dozens of them and bucks too and since this is nothing I’d see so easily back home, I guess I’ve traded the chipmunks for the deer and okay, that’s fine but still… just look at this cuteness…

This image was taken by the inspiring Theresa from Salem Massachusetts, also known to her massive lists of fans as Simple Tess, a long time Flickr contact of mine.

(image: simple tess)

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About

I’m Holly Becker, and I work as a journalist, author and interior stylist with a 4th book soon to release this September. On decor8, I share decorating ideas, trends and beautiful objects and places - those extra special finds, often made by hand, things that tell a story. I'm lucky enough to travel frequently so I record my many adventures here, too. Together with my small team, we present daily content to enlighten and inspire. Welcome and happy decor8ing!

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